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2 October 2015—Increased investment in modern biosciences can significantly contribute to the transition of sub Saharan Africa from a source of raw materials to a producer of value added products and drive economic growth on the continent.

According to Dr Peter Ndemere executive secretary of Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), science, technology and innovation in general and modern bioscience in particular are critical to the transformation of regional populations from subsistence to modern and prosperous communities. Ndemere was speaking at a symposium convened on 29 September 2015 at the UNCST headquarters in Kampala, Uganda, to discuss regional cooperation in biosciences for agricultural development.

The gathering of researchers, policy makers and representatives of international agricultural research institutions were exploring opportunities for collaboration in bioscience research and capacity building for improved agricultural productivity, income generation and food and nutritional security; and prospects for the Uganda national agricultural research system (NARS) actors to maximize opportunities available at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa–International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub in Nairobi, Kenya.

Dr Appolinaire Djikeng, the director of the BecA-ILRI Hub highlighted the support that has already been availed to Ugandan agricultural research institutions totaling over USD 725,000. The BecA-ILRI Hub’s contributions include ongoing research and capacity building activities with Makerere University, Gulu University and the National Agricultural Research Organization.

‘The BecA-ILRI Hub presents an opportunity for the African scientists to develop their capacities and should be seen as an extension of the capabilities available within the NARS’ said Djikeng.

Dr Theresa Sengooba, chairperson of UNCST commended the BecA-ILRI Hub for supporting regional NARS in seeking practical solutions to agricultural development challenges in the country and the region. Dr Sengooba who is also a BecA-ILRI Hub advisory panel member underscored the need to strengthen public-private, public-public and private-private partnerships for sustainable collaboration.

To demonstrate the contribution of the BecA-ILRI Hub to bioscience innovation in the region, Dr Charles Masembe, associate professor at Makerere University talked about his research on African swine fever while Dr Laban Turyagyenda, director of the Ngeta Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute highlighted his work on tolerant cassava varieties, both of which have been done in collaboration with the BecA-ILRI Hub. Dr Alex Bombom, a post-doctoral scientist at the BecA-ILRI Hub gave insights to his groundbreaking work in the development of a hybrid crop between maize and sorghum, with high potential for dual use as food and fuel.

The symposium was attended by 30 participants comprising UNCST Board Members and senior managers, senior scientists and researchers from NARO and Makerere University and government officials from the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Sports. The ILRI country representative, Dr Ben Lukuyu was also present at the symposium which was moderated by Dr Julius Ecuru from UNCST.

Through this workshop, researchers from national agricultural research systems (NARS) in eastern, central and western Africa acquire skills that help them decipher the huge amounts of biological data that could translate to the more rapid solution of challenges to acquiring food and nutritional security on the continent.

Julia Khayeli, a participant from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agricultural Technology in Kenya said ‘I am very excited because I have finally made sense of the sequences I got from my research!’ In addition to deciphering her data, Khayeli had the opportunity to network with researchers from 12 eastern, central and western African countries.

The workshop is being conducted in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) which has partnered with the BecA-ILRI Hub for the last nine years, providing access to technical advice and enhanced expertise from the institution and co-convening regional bioinformatics workshops.

NAIROBI, 4 September 2015—The shortage of scientists, engineers, health professionals and technicians in sub-Saharan Africa has been blamed for the lack of sustainable homegrown solutions to development challenges on the continent. To address this gap, innovative approaches to providing high level Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) skills training with the limited national resources available to majority African governments of must be sought.

From 17-28 August 2015, a team of eight scientists from the Addis Ababa University received a tailor-made training in molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub in Nairobi.

By undertaking the training just 1,500km from home, the team, which had received funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH, USA) to conduct research on tuberculosis in Ethiopia, was able to minimize project costs of time, travel and accommodation. The project entitled “Systems Biology for Molecular Analysis of Tuberculosis in Ethiopia” is being implemented in collaboration with the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), USA.

‘When my counterpart Dr Rembert Pieper from JCVI proposed the BecA-ILRI Hub as the training sight, I was excited because it meant we could have more people trained,’ said Prof. Gobena Ameni, project principal investigator and Professor at the Addis Ababa University. ‘The option of travelling to USA for the same training would have cost the project too much time and money,’ he added.The two-week training which comprised lectures and hands-on experience enabled the participants acquire basic skills in genomic DNA purification, polymerase chain reaction, plasmid cloning, DNA sequencing and bioinformatics.

‘The training was excellent and has opened our minds to new ideas and areas of study,’ said Ameni. ‘It will not only be relevant to our current project NIH-funded project but also for our projects in other areas’ he said.

The workshop was conducted as part of the BecA-ILRI Hub’s mandate to strengthen the capacity of African national research scientists and institutions. This shared research platform exists to enable African science leaders to solve some of Africa’s key agricultural challenges through the applications of modern biotechnology by hosting research, conducting trainings and by providing research related services.

‘The BecA-ILRI Hub will build on this model of building capacity and continue to engage national agricultural research systems in the region in order to sharpen our focus on innovatively responding to the needs of the NARS,’ said Wellington Ekaya, a senior scientist in charge of capacity building. ‘This kind of engagement means that BecA-ILRI Hub can build the capacity of research scientist from African NARS to conduct high-end research at an affordable cost’.

The BecA-ILRI Hub hereby invites applications for a workshop on scientific research paper writing to be held from 26-30 October 2015. The workshop is one of BecA-ILRI Hub’s annual training workshops under the capacity building portfolio, whose objective is to strengthen the capacity of African NARS to effectively, efficiently and sustainably deliver on their national mandates. The training will be conducted at the ILRI Campus, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Eligibility / Applicant requirementsThe workshop is generally open to PhD students and early career agricultural researchers with a strong interest in improving their writing skills. More specific applicant requirements include the following:

• African scientist with PhD or MSc in any agricultural discipline• Fluent in English (written and spoken)• Currently conducting agricultural bio sciences research with an African national agricultural research program or university in one of the BecA countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda.• Must have a project report for conversion to a paper, and/or analyzed research data through figures and tables Women candidates are particularly encouraged to apply

• Call for applications release: 27 August 2015 • Application deadline: 18 September 2015 • Information to successful applicants: 24 September 2015- Applications submitted after the 18 September 2015 deadline and incomplete applications will not be considered.

SponsorshipThere are several fully funded places for this workshop. However, applicants who can fund their participation have an added advantage. The cost of the workshop is $1500, excluding flights and accommodation

InquiriesInquiries about the workshop and / or the BecA-ILRI Hub Capacity Building Program should be directed to Dr. Wellington Ekaya, Senior Scientist Capacity Building (w.ekaya "at" cgiar.org) or Ms. Valerian Aloo, Capacity Building Program Officer (v.aloo "at" cgiar.org).

For comprehensive information about the BecA-ILRI Hub visit http://hub.africabiosciences.org/

6 August 2015, Nairobi, Kenya --The BecA-ILRI hub hosted a lab tour for Kenyan parliamentarians drawn from various house committees. The Members of parliament were on a mission to assess the human and infrastructural capacity in agricultural biotechnology research in Kenya.

The visit which gave the law makers an opportunity to interact with scientists was hailed as an eye opener by the chair of the education committee in parliament, Hon. Sabina Chege who took part in the tour. “I urge scientists to organize more such events to equip the legislature with vital information in research that will enable them make informed decisions” she said.

Wednesday 5 August 2015 - The BecA-ILRI Hub staff and Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) fellows held a celebration in honour of Dr Gity Behravan, First Secretary – Regional Research Cooperation, at the Embassy of Sweden in Kenya.

Through her oversight role in the BecA-Sweden partnership, Berhavan has been instrumental in the growth of the BecA-ILRI Hub’s capacity to empower African scientists and national agricultural research systems (NARS) to solve Africa’s agricultural challenges by strengthening research for development capacity in biosciences.

'Having engaged with BecA since the very beginning, I am impressed with how it has grown into a vibrant program that is relevant to the wider African science agenda,' said Behravan. 'I am not leaving you behind, but will continue to support this program in my new role in Stockholm.'

The partnership which is funded by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) brings together partners from African NARS, private sector, international research institutes, foreign universities and the CGIAR to conduct research aimed at achieving food security and climate change mitigation. The partnership also provides financial support for the BecA-ILRI Hub annual training workshops and avails technical advice and enhanced capacity from Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) to the bioinformatics platform.

Berhavan who has been with the partnership since its inception in 2011 will be relocating to Stockholm Sweden.

A visit by the United Kingdom Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Sir Mark Walport to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya on 15 July 2015 highlighted how UK’s investment in research in Africa is spurring the emergence of strategic partnerships between research institutions in UK and Africa.

During his visit to ILRI, Sir Mark toured the state-of-the-art Biosciences eastern and central Africa-ILRI (BecA-ILRI) Hub laboratories, a facility that provides access to and hosts research by African national scientists and their partners working to tackle key challenges to food and nutritional security on the continent.

Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) program

Sir Walport learned how the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and other donors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Sweden, Australia (DFAT) and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) are jointly supporting a program that brings over 50 African national scientists a year to the BecA-ILRI Hub to conduct cutting edge, appropriate research aimed at addressing key constraints to African food and nutritional security, from BecA-ILRI Hub capacity building scientist Wellington Ekaya.

To demonstrate the impact that the ABCF program is already having on national programs’ research, Barberine Assongo from the University of Dschang in Cameroon briefed Sir Walport on the research she is conducting as an ABCF fellow to control the economically significant cattle disease, East coast fever (ECF). This tick borne disease is responsible for the deaths of over one million cattle each year valued at over $300 million in Sub Saharan Africa. Although a vaccine based on the whole live parasite is available, its need for cold storage and delivery has hampered widespread use in endemic areas. There are also concerns about spreading the disease to new areas by establishing a ‘carrier’ state in vaccinated animals. Through her research, Barberine hopes to contribute to the development of a vaccine based on parts of the parasite which will not require cold-chain storage and delivery.

Stemming food losses from devastating crop diseases in Africa

Among the scientists Sir Walport met during his visit to ILRI were researchers Jagger Harvey, Josiah Mutuku (BecA-ILRI Hub) and Samuel Mutiga (University of Arkansas/BecA-ILRI Hub visiting researcher) who are working on components of bean and rice improvement projects supported by the Sustainable Crop Production Research for International Development (SCPRID) initiative, funded by UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and (through a grant awarded to BBSRC) the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

The SCPRID project focused on beans is working to manipulate natural dynamics in bean-virus-aphid interactions for the benefit of over 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who depend on the common bean for nutrition and income. A team of scientists from University of Cambridge and Rothamsted Research (UK); the BecA-ILRI Hub; and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)-Pan African Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) are exploring new ways of controlling bean virus diseases by altering the feeding patterns and behaviour of aphids through this initiative.

In the SCPRID rice project being partly conducted at the BecA-ILRI Hub, researchers from University of Exeter, the Ohio State University, the University of Arkansas, the BecA-ILRI Hub, Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), and the Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), Burkina Faso are using genomics to develop durable blast resistance in rice in Africa. The production of rice which has recently become the staple food for a large population in Africa is threatened by rice blast, a fungal disease which causes a global loss of amounts large enough to feed around 60 million people each year. The project has collected and tested blast fungal isolates from East and West Africa against a panel of potentially resistant rice lines, and is devising the breeding strategies for deployment in each of the two regions.

New alliances for capacity building in research

Through strategic collaborations with advanced research institutions in the UK, the BecA-ILRI Hub has set the stage for sub-regional organizations, African universities and research institutions within the BecA region; western and southern Africa and beyond to benefit from relevant high-end basic research. A Memorandum of Understanding between the BecA-ILRI Hub and the John Innes Centre (JIC), UK, has brought one of the leading plant science institutes in the world as direct partners in the research for development pipeline for African agricultural improvement. The JIC Director of International Strategy and Liaison, Christopher Darby and JIC molecular wheat breeder Cristobal Uauy who were in Nairobi to lead a selection panel for a JIC Science for Africa PhD studentship in yellow wheat rust research, expounded on the role of the alliance in significantly augmenting the BecA-ILRI Hub’s ability to support NARS research to Sir Walport.

Two key collaborations under the BecA-JIC alliance on crop improvement received special attention. Alemu Abate, a grass pea breeder from Askum University in Ethiopia who is currently an ABCF fellow and Peter Emmrich, a JIC grass pea researcher currently at the BecA-ILRI Hub to provide technical support, highlighted the significance of Abate’s project to produce safer lines of the drought-hardy crop that can survive under harsh conditions faced by millions of subsistence farmers, but which is associated with a plant toxin that causes paralysis. Doreen Mutoni, a bean breeder from the Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) and ABCF fellow, Tilly Eldridge, a JIC scientist based at the BecA-ILRI Hub and Cristobal Uauy a JIC molecular wheat breeder, highlighted how Mutoni and the RAB program are being supported in applying genomics to introduce molecular breeding to an already strong conventional breeding program.

Eldridge’s secondment at the BecA-ILRI Hub is funded by The John Innes Foundation and a BMGF supplementary grant to the Engineering Symbiosis for Africa (ENSA) project. Over the next year, Eldridge and other JIC researchers will be supporting capacity building activities at the BecA-ILRI Hub. The BecA-ILRI Hub’s capacity to connect NARS scientists to global research partners in an aggressive effort towards a food and nutritionally secure future continues to be strengthened by a four year Program Support Grant of USD 12.5 million being funded jointly by DFID and BMGF.

Workshop dates: 7 – 18, September 2015The BecA-ILRI Hub seeks to strengthen the capacity of the African scientific community, to conduct bioscience research and significantly contribute to improved agricultural products that can enhance livelihoods of farmers in the region.

As part of this capacity building programme, the BecA-ILRI Hub in collaboration with SLU will hold a training workshop on Advanced Genomics and Bioinformatics commencing from 7th– 18th September 2015. The workshop aims to provide a learning forum for researchers in bioinformatics, computational biology as well as scientists utilizing computational methods in their research.

We are seeking applicants from East and Central Africa who require advanced skills in Bioinformatics to support their research. A total of 25 graduate students and early career researchers will be selected based on evidence of productive research and relevance of the training to their current research. Applicants who are currently engaged in agricultural research within a national research institute or a university are highly encouraged to apply. Selected participants will attend an intensive 2 weeks training workshop at the BecA-ILRI Hub in Nairobi, Kenya. The program includes comprehensive lectures and hands-on training sessions in Linux, Genomics and Next generation sequencing technologies, Genome and transcriptome assembly, Metagenome and metagenomic analysis tools and their applications to biological research.

A team of creditable facilitators from the SLU, New York University and BecA-ILRI Hub (Kenya) will conduct the training.

Applicant requirements• A national of one of the BecA countries: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.• Affiliated with a national research program or university in the East African BecA region• Currently engaged in biosciences research• a minimum of MSc in biological sciences• Good working knowledge of written and spoken English• Online application form completed by 10th August 2015: http://hpc.ilri.cgiar.org/beca/training/Applications/AdvancedBFX2015/

Women candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

Applications received after deadline and incomplete applications will not be considered. Successful applicants will be notified by 14 August 2015.

The workshop concept note is attached.

Thank you for considering this opportunity and we look forward to hearing from you.

From 29-30 June 2015, the Director of the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub, Appolinaire Djikeng, visited the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) in Stockholm to discuss Sweden’s continued role in enhancing agricultural productivity in Africa.

For the past nine years, the BecA-ILRI Hub and SLU have been partnering to increase the capability of African national agricultural research systems (NARS) in bioinformatics, an interdisciplinary field which addresses biological problems using computational techniques. The BecA-ILRI Hub has also, since 2012, been implementing a suite of unique research projects focused on achieving food security and climate change mitigation with funding from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Sida.

The deliberations during the meetings focused on the key outputs of the BecA- Sweden partnership, the lessons learned and emerging areas of collaboration. Plans for joint resource mobilization and implementation of collaborative programs were also discussed in the context of a presentation given by Djikeng on ‘The BecA-ILRI Hub and its role in enhancing agricultural productivity in Africa through regional and international collaborations for research for development.’

Through an alliance established with the BecA-ILRI Hub in 2014, the John Innes Centre (JIC), a world-leading international centre of excellence in plant science and microbiology, has now stationed one of their scientists, Tilly Eldridge in Kenya.

The agreement between the institutions opens doors to new capacity building, resource mobilization and technology transfer activities between Africa and Europe. Tilly, a post-doctoral scientist from the UK, talks about her inspiration, aspirations and experiences as a pioneer in anticipated vibrant exchange of research experiences between UK and Africa.

Inspiration, aspirations and experiences by Tilly Eldridge

Inspiration:

I have always wanted to spend part of my career contributing to the advancement of research for agriculture in Africa. I first heard about the Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub when I was entering the final year of my PhD studies and started enquiring about opportunities to work in Africa. It was not long after this that Jagger Harvey, a BecA-ILRI Hub scientist, visited the John Innes Centre (JIC) where I was and gave a very good presentation about the BecA-ILRI Hub.

Listening to Jagger talk made me feel that the BecA-ILRI Hub was the perfect place for me to fulfil my ambitions. The institute has an excellent scientific reputation and ground breaking policies in capacity building. The completion of my PhD at JIC in October 2014 was perfect timing since the JIC-BecA alliance collaborations had started to gain momentum and I had an opportunity to get involved.

Aspirations:

I hope that I can be an integral part of the JIC-BecA alliance, helping align projects and expertise from both institutes to make this a really fruitful collaboration. I hope that I also that I can evolve my own area of expertise and offer support to the many African national agricultural research system (NARS) scientists that are hosted here. I am inspired by the fact that the BecA-ILRI Hub is a hub for scientists working on national priority research projects from across the whole region. I look forward to making

Experiences:

Everyone at the BecA-ILRI Hub has been really welcoming, enthusiastic and friendly since my arrival. I found that the science conducted here is indeed cutting edge and I am really impressed with the level of support that the staff provides no matter how busy they are. I look forward to continuing in the key role of being the main point of contact for the JIC-BecA alliance here at the BecA-ILRI Hub

For my own research, it is really empowering to not just be focussed on getting that next important result but to also be part of capacity building for African scientists. I think that many students and post-doctoral scientists from JIC would benefit greatly from spending time at the BecA-ILRI Hub and vice versa.

We apologise that due to the thorough review conducted by internal and external panelists, the Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF) selection of successful candidates has taken longer than initially planned.

The exercise is however complete and successful applicants have been contacted. ALL contacted candidates have responded and are at various stages of finalizing their proposals. If you have not received any notification on the same then consider your application not successful.

Below is a summary of statistics on the 2015 ABCF applications and selected projects:

Total applications / proposals received: 278

Total projects selected: 34

Categorization of selected projects into BecA-ILRI Hub research themes:

The Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) earlier this month signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate research that will help modernize small-scale agriculture in the country.

The agreement was signed in Kigali, Rwanda, on 6 May 2015 by the Rwandan Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, Hon Gerardine Mukeshimana, and Iain Wright,ILRI’s deputy director general for integrated sciences. Until mid-2014, the minister, who is a plant breeder by training, had beenworking at the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA)-ILRI Hub, where she employed molecular virology, genomics and bioinformatics in strategies to control the spread of viral diseases of the common bean, a staple food of her country.

Present at the signing ceremony were the director of the BecA-ILRI Hub, Appolinaire Djikeng, and Romano Kiome, an agricultural and rural development specialist who formerly served as director of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI, now the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation) and permanent secretary in Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture.

‘I’m delighted to have signed, on behalf of ILRI, the MoU with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources,’ said Iain Wright. ‘It is clear that the livestock sector in Rwanda has huge potential to contribute even more than it currently does to economic development and food and nutrition security.’ He added that the Rwanda Government’s ‘One Cow per Poor Family’ program, which has already reached nearly a quarter million poor households since its inception in 2006, is an example of the difference livestock development can make to people’s lives.

The MoU marks a new level of collaboration between ILRI and the Rwanda Government to bolster the livestock sector’s ability to feed a rapidly growing population. From 2008 to 2013, ILRI was a key partner in the first phase of a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—the East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) Project—that operated in Rwanda and two other East African countries. Implemented by a consortium of partners led by Heifer International, this project has helped enhance the region’s dairy value chain and increase the incomes of its many small-scale dairy farmers.

Funders of the BecA-ILRI Hub have to date invested nearly half a million dollars in support of Rwandan scientists tackling various food challenges in their country. A joint initiative ofthe African Union’s New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AU-NEPAD) and ILRI, the Hub has helped more than 40 Rwandan scientists apply the latest biotechnologiesin research on issues of national importance.

Starting in 2013, scientists of the Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) have also been engaged with the Hub in collaborative research on Brachiaria grasses, producing improved, farmer preferred, varieties of this nutritious fodder that is now in use by more than 100 livestock farmers. These grasses, which are native to Africa, are among the most widely cultivated forages in South and Central America and Australia, where they have significantly increased cattle milk and meat yields in cattle. Some 56 Rwandese farms are now testing responses in productivity levels (changes in milk and/or liveweight gains) to Brachiaria feeding.

Among other Rwanda scientists the Hub has supported is Kizito Nishimwe, a lecturer at the University of Rwanda who conducted a study of the levels of aflatoxin contamination of Rwanda’s maize. To date, a dearth of data on aflatoxin levels in this nationally important crop, which feeds animals as well as people, has hampered development of policies to control contamination and has limited the growth of Rwanda’s commercial maize markets and trade. Nishimwe’s research lays the foundation for development of interventions that will better control aflatoxin poisoning.

This new partnership agreement between Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and ILRI lays the foundation for even closer and more productive collaborations in future. Working together, scientists from Rwanda, the BecA-ILRI Hub and the rest of ILRI will be well-positioned to advance and accelerate knowledge and technologies that improve Rwanda’s agricultural productivity and incomes as well as its food and nutritional security.

Wheat provides over 20% of the calories and protein consumed by humans. As the world population continues to increase, the sustainability of wheat yields must be improved by minimizing losses produced by pathogens. Wheat yellow rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, is one of the most devastating diseases of wheat worldwide. To address Food Security new tools are needed to combat this devastating disease.

About the project

The project has an unprecedented opportunity to make a major contribution to the development of new breeding lines with improved resistance to wheat yellow rust. The studentship builds upon previous research that laid the foundations for this project by creating a host of resources that can be utilized right from the start. This includes mapping populations for resistance genes which are effective across many wheat growing environments, cutting edge molecular techniques as well as the latest genomics resources available in wheat. The project aims to characterise these resistance sources and generate closely linked genetic markers to enable deployment of these genes into African breeding lines.

The project will train the student in a set of skills that cover all aspects of modern plant molecular breeding, including bioinformatics skills, and will thus provide the student with an excellent foundation for their future. The student will come into a highly dynamic and multi-disciplinary group that uses the latest technologies in gene discovery and translation to breeders. They will form part of the Norwich Rust Group composed of seven research groups working on rust fungi and will we welcomed into a larger international project with partners across Europe, Africa and South Asia. This will provide the student with an extensive scientific network. The student will also learn more widely applicable skills like teamwork, science communication and presentation as well as long-term planning skills. The applied nature of the project also means that the student will have to frequently interact with breeding companies, giving the student an insight into the commercial side of plant breeding.

This 4-year John Innes Centre Science for Africa studentship is available to successful candidates who meet the eligibility criteria of the studentship. Below is the link to the studentship eligibility guidelines which all candidates should check to confirm their eligibility for funding. Candidates must be nationals of and ordinarily resident in a Sub-Saharan African country. The current stipend for 2015/6 is £14,057 per annum.

The Biosciences eastern and central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub seeks to strengthen the capacity of the African scientific community in the understanding and application of methods in quantitative genetics and genomics to support research that will improve agricultural products and enhance food security in the region. As part of its capacity building programme, the BecA-ILRI Hub will hold a training course on Animal quantitative genetics and genomics from 1 - 5 June 2015.

This call seeks applicants who require basic skills in quantitative genetics and genomics to support their research. Applicants will be selected based on evidence of productive scholarship and research; relevance of the workshop to current research; and engagement in agricultural research within a national research institute or university. Selected participants will attend an intensive 5-day training course at the ILRI campus in Nairobi, Kenya, with lectures and practical sessions population genetics, mixed linear models, genetic markers, GWAS, genomic selection among others topics. Participants will also have on hand practical sessions on programming.

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS• Nationals of any Africa country are eligible but priority will be given to nationals of BecA countries (Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda).• Strong affiliation with a national agricultural research program or institution or university in any of the above countries.• Currently engaged in animal breeding/genetics research.• Holders of BSc, MSc or PhD in Animal breeding and genetics or a related subject.• Good working knowledge of written and spoken English.• Basic knowledge of computer-based applications relevant to this course.• Endorsement by applicant’s home institution through letter of nomination/recommendation from head of department or institution head.

Women candidates are particularly encouraged to apply.

Laptops will be necessary for all the training sessions. You will be expected to have R and Fortran compiler installed

The training will be delivered by experts in animal quantitative genetics and genomics from the ILRI Animal Biosciences and international research partners from the USA.

Biosciences tools can be used to address many of Africa’s agricultural challenges such as pests, diseases and climatic constraints that result in low crop yields and poor animal productivity. However, opportunities linking modern biosciences to agricultural improvement to solve some of Africa’s major agricultural problems remain largely untapped.

The BecA-ILRI Hub hosts and conducts research in crop, microbe and livestock areas where new developments in biosciences and well trained researchers can solve some intractable problems constraining Africa’s food security. For more information about the BecA-ILRI Hub please visit: http://hub.africabiosciences.org/

As part of its capacity building program, the BecA-ILRI Hub will hold a training workshop on Principles of Laboratory Management and Equipment Operations Training Workshop at the Rwanda Agricultural Board, Rubona Centre in Rwanda on the 15 - 19 June 2015.

Scope of the training workshopEfficient management of any laboratory facility is necessary to ensure that research is quality controlled and resources are utilized cost effectively. Laboratory management practices must ensure compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks for health and safety, waste management, import and export of biological materials and biosafety. In addition the management of laboratory equipment is a core function and contributes significantly towards the success of any laboratory. Therefore, good laboratory management skills are necessary for personnel charged with management of these vital facilities.This course aims to cover the following scope; lab design and classification, lab information management system (LIMS), lab quality control, equipment operations and maintenance. Also included are laboratory health and safety, procurement procedures, shipping of biological samples and materials transfer agreements.

Who can apply/selection criteriaThe Hub is seeking applicants from eastern and central Africa region who require basics skills in laboratory management. The training is targeting Laboratory heads or supervisors, Scientists and Laboratory/research technicians. In addition, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Important datesThe online application form must be submitted by mid-night, 8th May 2015 (Nairobi time).Applications received after the deadline or incomplete applications will not be considered.Successful applicants will be notified by 15th May 2015.

Workshop sponsors

The Australia Government Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through a partnership between Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the BecA-ILRI Hub.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

The Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.

The Rwanda Agricultural Board

For further clarifications/ inquiries on the workshop, please contact us.

Thank you for considering this opportunity and we look forward to hearing from you.

The workshop is generally open to PhD students and early career agricultural researchers with a strong interest in improving their bioinformatics and genomics skills. More specific applicant requirements include the following:

African scientist with PhD or MSc in any agricultural discipline

Fluent in English (written and spoken)

Currently conducting agricultural biosciences research with an African national agricultural research program or university in one of the BecA countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda.

Background

The Biosciences eastern and central Africa - International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub, located in Nairobi, Kenya, is a shared agricultural research and biosciences platform that exists to increase access for African researchers to affordable, world-class research facilities. The mission of the BecA-ILRI Hub is “Mobilizing Bioscience for Africa’s Development” by providing a Centre of Excellence in agricultural biosciences, which enables research, capacity building and product incubation, conducted by scientists in Africa and for Africa, and empowers African institutions to harness innovations for regional impact. This mission is achieved by the BecA–ILRI Hub’s contributions to:

Research: enabling research to harness the potential of the biosciences to contribute to increasing agricultural productivity and to improving food and nutritional safety and security.

Education: contributing to the education and training of the next generation of African agricultural research leaders and scientists.

Innovation: promoting the development, delivery and adoption of new technologies to address key agricultural productivity constraints.

The BecA-ILRI Hub capacity building program is branded The Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF).The ABCF program operates in the critically important intersection between agricultural research and development (ARD), food security, and individual and institutional capacity building. The ABCF program is delivered through i) a visiting scientist program (the ABCF fellowship) targeting scientists and graduate students from African national agricultural research organizations and universities to undertake biosciences research-for-development projects at the BecA-ILRI Hub, and ii) annual training workshops to support the acquisition of practical skills in molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, laboratory management, laboratory safety, equipment maintenance, and scientific writing.

Purpose

The purpose of the ABCF fellowship program is to develop capacity for agricultural biosciences research in Africa, to support research projects that ultimately contribute towards increasing food and nutritional security and / or food safety in Africa, and to facilitate access to the BecA-ILRI Hub facilities by African researchers (and their partners). We seek applicants with innovative ideas for short to medium term research projects (up to 12 months) aligned with national, regional or continental agricultural development priorities that can be undertaken at the BecA-ILRI Hub.

Areas of research

Applicants must be scientists or graduate students affiliated with a NARI or University, and conducting research in the areas of food and nutritional security or food safety in Africa. Those carrying our research in the following areas are particularly encouraged to apply*:

Harnessing genetic diversity for conservation, resistance to disease and improving productivity of crops and livestock and fish (livestock focus: African indigenous breeds, particularly of goats, chickens, and cavies and other small animals);

Molecular breeding for important food security crops in Africa;

Plant transformation to address food insecurity in Africa;

Plant-microbe interactions;

Tissue culture and virus indexing for production of virus-free planting materials in Africa;

Microbial technology for improving adaptation of staple food crops and forages to biotic and abiotic stresses;

Soil health in agricultural systems;

Special opportunities also exist to connect with leading international scientists linked with the BecA-ILRI Hub in the following areas: wheat rusts, insect pests, and nitrogen fixation.

Other special opportunities exist to connect with CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs): Livestock & Fish, Agriculture for Nutrition & Health, Humid tropics etc. Such collaboration would allow the candidate’s research to contribute more directly to an impact-oriented research-for-development agenda, and offer additional opportunities for joint activities.

Decision on applications

Details of successful applicants will be posted on the BecA-ILRI Website on a continuous basis until completion of the review process (indicatively 30th April 2015).

Our Sponsors

The ABCF Research Fellowship program is supported by the Australian Government through a partnership between Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the BecA-ILRI Hub, by the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).

From 17-18 February 2015, the sixth Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) Steering Committee Meeting made site visits across Africa to engage with regional stakeholders and learn about each country’s efforts to mitigate aflatoxin.

Among the sites visited was the BecA-ILRI Hub in Nairobi Kenya which hosts a number of continental initiatives towards the control of aflatoxin contamination of maize including the Storage and Drying for Aflatoxin Control Project (AflaSTOP). The Steering Committee members appreciated the state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and the result-oriented regional efforts at BecA-ILRI Hub and the progress being made by the AflaSTOP project.

An article published in the PACA newsletter of February 2015 following this visit, highlights the BecA-ILRI Hub's support to many African scientists and their partners in amplifying their efforts to improve nutritional security and food safety in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Following stakeholder consultation and analysis, the BecA-ILRI Hub aflatoxin research team, through an Australian government funded partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), established a shared research and capacity building laboratory and team of experts to fill the gap caused by a scarcity of laboratories equipped to adequately tackle the issue of aflatoxins in the region.

Since its establishment in 2011, the platform has hosted work of more than sixty researchers, from seven African countries, Australia, Europe and North America. Collectively, the community around the laboratory has made initial assessments of aflatoxin contamination in a number of African countries, conducted the first inoculated field trials in the region to identify maize varieties less susceptible to aflatoxin accumulation, developed models estimating aflatoxin risk at harvest, and produced a range of other important findings and tools which are beginning to reach end users to help ensure safer food and feed for Africa.

A further dimension of vibrancy and capacity has been infused by the range of other projects currently hosted in the laboratory. These include the AflaSTOP project, led by Sophie Walker, ACDI/VOCA and Agribusiness Systems International; the Aflatoxin Proficiency Testing for Eastern and Central Africa (APTECA) project, led by Tim Herrman, Professor, State Chemist and Director, Texas A&M Agrilife Research, which has achieved ISO 17025 accreditation of aflatoxin testing in the BecA-ILRI Hub lab; the MyDairy project in collaboration with Professor Erastus Kang’ethe, University of Nairobi and various CG Research Programs Agriculture for Nutrition and Health projects led by Dr Delia Grace (ILRI); and a number of others led by researchers from African institutes.

Unlike other insects, tsetse fly females get pregnant with a single young which is nourished and develops inside the body of the parent with "milk" secreted from special glands. Only eight to ten are produced during the lifecycle of a female tsetse fly, compared to the thousands of eggs laid by a female mosquito over her life span. These insects also rely on proline, an amino acid that is a constituent of most proteins, as their source of energy unlike other insects which utilize different forms of carbohydrates.

From 15-21 March 2015, a team of scientists from across the world are gathered at the Biotechnology Research Institute-Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (BRI-KALRO) to compare the genomes of five tsetse species and determine the genetic factors responsible for their peculiar nutrition and reproduction as well as their vectorial capacity. The workshop to give in-depth meaning to the genome sequences of tsetse flies was convened by the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) and BRI-KALRO, in collaboration with the Biosciences eastern and central Africa -International Livestock Research Institute Hub(BecA-ILRI) Hub; African Insect Science for Food and health (icipe); the Center for Biotechnology and Bioinformatics –University of Nairobi (CEBIB-UoN); and South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI).

The scientists including Lorna Jemosop from Kenya, Tania Bishola from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Abraham Mayoke from Congo Brazzaville whose participation was facilitated by the BecA-ILRI Hub, are annotating the genes associated with chemosensation and vision, immunity, reproductive physiology, horizontal transfer events, digestion, salivary biology, regulatory systems and more.

The hands-on annotation efforts are being accompanied by topical lectures on the different physiologies given by experts in these fields including BecA-ILRI Hub bioinformatics post-doctoral scientist, Mark Wamalwa.